How different is it to go from high-end headphones to speakers? I just wonder how would a pair of these would sound...
Even the best of the best headphones can't compete with the cheapest ASR recommended speaker with a dirt cheap class D amp when played back in a non reverberant room. While the Sennheiser HD800S does a great job with PRTF simulation, it's still not enough to recreate what happens to the sound waves bouncing around in the room, hitting your face, ear structure, and ear canal. A ton of research goes into HRTF and PRTF, and still, it's just a rough simulation of what we experience. No one even entirely understands how open back headphones give us the wider sound field. Amir has speculated that group delay in the midrange and treble may contribute to an open soundstage, and rtings speculates that it's a specific frequency response in their Passive Soundstage Testing. Both are probably correct, but it's not entirely solved and settled. A lot of what we see in both cases, is data from the dummy head's that is used for testing.
Very surprising measurements. I would have guessed that the FR curve looked something like this: That's the HD800 :cool:
www.audiosciencereview.com
Soundstage determines the space and environment of sound, as created by the headphones. That is, it determines the perceived location and size of the sound field itself.
www.rtings.com
If you're asking how these will sound, well, you should be able to get 99% of the way there for much cheaper with a Kali IN-5, two subwoofers, and a DSP with room correction. Though, it may actually be better, since a subwoofer almost always benefits from proper room placement, which you cant do with the woofers on these 8361's. You may be able to go to a guitar center or other music shop and find the Kali's to try out. It's easier than finding these genelec's unless you're near a big city.